1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to optical fiber connectors, and in particular relates to ferrules having one or more tapered channels, and to optical fiber connectors employing such ferrules.
2. Technical Background
Optical fibers are widely used in a variety of applications, including the telecommunications industry in which optical fibers are employed in a number of telephony and data transmission applications. Due at least in part to the extremely wide bandwidth and the low noise operation provided by optical fibers, the use of optical fibers and the variety of applications in which optical fibers are used are continuing to increase. For example, optical fibers no longer serve as merely a medium for long distance signal transmission, but are being increasingly routed directly to the home or, in some instances, directly to a desk or other work location, and between or within telecommunication devices in a central office or an outdoor unit.
Optical fiber connectors are used in a variety of applications where a set of one or more optical fibers needs to be connected to an external device, such as another set of one or more optical fibers, a circuit board, or an apparatus adapted to receive and transmit light. For example, optical fiber cables require connectors adapted to connect to and link discrete segments of optical fibers, or to connect optical fiber ports where the optical fibers are terminated.
Optical fiber connectors typically use a ferrule having one or more fiber channels with a diameter sized to accommodate corresponding one or more optical fibers of a given diameter. Since the typical ferrule is rigid and non-deformable, the fiber channels cannot accommodate fibers that are even slightly larger than the channel size. This is problematic since optical fibers typically differ from their nominal target diameter due to manufacturing variability. By way of example, an optical fiber having a target (nominal) diameter of 0.1255 mm can have an actual diameter that varies between 0.1245 mm to 0.1265 mm. Consequently, for all such optical fibers to fit into a ferrule, the ferrule would have to have a diameter of the largest variation, i.e., of at least 0.1265 mm. However, this sizing of the fiber channel leaves gaps on each side of the optical fiber for all but the largest-diameter fibers, resulting in many loose-fit optical fibers. Such loose fits translate into unacceptably high insertion loss.
Thus, there is a need for a ferrule for an optical fiber connector that can accommodate one or more optical fibers that have varying diameters.